In our last posting, we talked about execution . . . about the need for meticulous planning, thorough and detailed communication of our plans, and after-the-fact review to determine what went right and what didn’t in an effort to continuously improve our execution skills and abilities. We probably should have preceded that discussion with one
Learn to delegate
I’ve written about delegation before, but I continue to think about it because so many small business owners don’t do it very well. Entrepreneurs often like to pull all the significant levers in the business and push all the important buttons. They built the business and know the critical parts of it better than anyone,
Stop Making Those Decisions
In a 1995 article by A.E. Carlisle entitled simply, “MacGregor,” Carlisle tells the story of the title character who is a plant manager with a remarkable management style. At the core of MacGregor’s style is his refusal to make any operating decisions. Sounds a little odd, doesn’t it? Yet his plant (even though it’s the
Now, Discover Your Strengths
In his excellent book, “Now Discover Your Strengths,” author Marcus Buckingham and co-author Donald Clifton discuss the work they did for The Gallup Organization to find out what makes successful people successful. What do those successful people have in common that makes them high achievers? So they sifted through over two million interviews that Gallup
Running a company is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do.
Running a company is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do. Below are some activities that, when performed rigorously and consistently, tend to separate strong small business operators from those who are struggling. It is not intended to be a comprehensive list, and the list is not in any particular
“There is no point in doing well that which you should not be doing at all.”
It’s not unusual. We just continue to do certain things in the business because we always have done them. Or we continue to do them because it would be a pain in the neck to train someone else to do them. Either way, we end up doing things that are not the highest and best
“If your business keeps you so busy that you have no time for anything else, there must be something wrong, either with you or with your business.”
Do you have time to do things you want to do outside of your business? Or, said another way, do you feel you have good “balance” in your life? Obviously, there are times when business activity is high and things can get a little hectic, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. Over
“Let people accomplish your objectives their way.”
Where systems or processes are concerned, it really is essential that everybody use them uniformly. Imagine an assembly line. Each station on the line must perform its function in a very precise way, each and every time, or stations further down the line won’t be able to do their work. But for the most part,
“One of the greatest challenges as a manager is how to delegate so effectively that once you have gotten the monkey off your back, your employees don’t return it to you . . . with instructions for its care and feeding.”
An important part of leadership, delegation, is growing the people who are under the leader’s care. It takes time and it takes effort, but it’s the only way to develop a strong, effective team. Picture this. You’ve just given one of your direct reports an important assignment. Soon the direct report returns with questions, lots
